Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken by courts in England to deal with pre-charge bail extension applications was in the last 12 months.
Answered by Mike Freer
Applications for pre-charge bail must be dealt with by the court as soon as practicable. Data about the average time taken to deal with such applications is not collated centrally and could only be determined at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the current average waiting time is for an appeal against a personal independence payment, employment support allowance or universal credit decision to be heard by the tribunal in (a) Leeds, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Information about the outcomes of and waiting times for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Decisions on benefit – typically, on a person’s entitlement to benefit, or its rate of payment - can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by the independent tribunal judiciary.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by SSCS, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the tribunal over (a) personal independence payment, (b) employment support allowance and (c) universal credit decisions have been successful in each of the last two years in Leeds.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Information about the outcomes of and waiting times for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Decisions on benefit – typically, on a person’s entitlement to benefit, or its rate of payment - can be overturned on appeal for a variety of reasons. For instance, further evidence, including oral testimony, may be provided at the hearing. HM Courts & Tribunals Service cannot comment on decisions made by the independent tribunal judiciary.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by SSCS, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask coroners to prioritise post-mortems and the holding of inquests for babies that have died.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Whilst mindful of how tragic and disturbing the loss of a child is, coroners are independent judicial office holders and therefore it would be inappropriate for Ministers to advise them on how they should make their judicial decisions.
The Chief Coroner, who provides leadership, guidance and support to coroners, has issued Guidance No. 28 to coroners on decision making and expedited decisions.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for riding (a) an electric bicycle and (b) an electric scooter on the pavement in England in the last 12 months.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Information on prosecutions for riding (a) an electric bicycle and (b) an electric scooter on the pavement in England cannot be identified without incurring disproportionate costs, as the offences are not defined in legislation and these offences cannot be disaggregated from broader miscellaneous summary motoring offences within the MOJ’s Court Proceedings Database. This information may be held on court record but to be able to identify these cases would require access to individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.
Prosecutions for offences related to summary motoring can be found in the ‘Principle offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code’ data tool, available here:
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the circumstances in which the name of the victim of an alleged rape may not be disclosed to the defendant.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The disclosure of a victim’s name to a defendant charged with a criminal offence is a fundamental aspect of ensuring the defendant can prepare a defence at court and thus receives a fair trial.
The one circumstance in which the name of the victim of an alleged rape would not be disclosed to the defendant during proceedings in a criminal court would be if, following an application by the CPS, the court made a witness anonymity order under section 88 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 in respect of the victim who was due to give evidence in the case and whose name had not already been disclosed during the investigation or earlier stages of the proceedings. The court must apply a number of stringent tests before granting such an order. These include that the proposed order is necessary, that it is in the interests of justice that the witness should testify and, having regard to all the circumstances, the effects of making the order would be consistent with the defendant receiving a fair trial.
Victims of rape are currently granted lifetime anonymity under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 and although this does not include anonymity from the defendant, publishing details of the victim, such as their name, address, place of education or work, is a criminal offence.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to establish a civil justice centre in Leeds.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
There are currently no plans to establish a civil justice centre in Leeds. Our estate in Leeds is regularly reviewed to make sure it continues to meet our operational requirements.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether guidance has been issued to courts on hearing bankruptcy proceedings in the absence of the individual concerned; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The listing of court cases, including the method by which they will take place, is a matter for the judiciary. Should there be non-attendance of the individual at the hearing, whether it is being held in person or remotely, the judge will determine whether the hearing will proceed.
HMCTS provide court staff with guidance to assist in the facilitation of remote hearings where the judge deems this method as appropriate for a particular case. Public guidance on the use of remote hearings is available https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmcts-telephone-and-video-hearings-during-coronavirus-outbreak
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on the number of visitors allowed into court buildings in the context of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Regulating the footfall within our physical buildings has been central to ensuring that our courts and tribunals remain safe for the people who need to use them.
We have significantly changed our ways of working since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure our buildings are Covid-secure. Given the need for social distancing, there has been a focus on regulating and reducing footfall. For example, we have drastically increased capacity for remote (e.g. video) hearings; and have worked closely with the judiciary in scheduling court and tribunal lists in innovative ways, to spread cases throughout the day. We have also made sure that all staff who can work from home are able to do so, thereby further reducing the number of people in our buildings and we ask parties coming into court or tribunal for a hearing, where they need support, to limit that support to only one person (for example a friend or family member). Our approach to managing and maintaining safety across our courts and tribunals estate is set out in detail for all our users via our Gov.UK pages: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-courts-and-tribunals-planning-and-preparation#assessing-and-managing-coronavirus-risk
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 May 2020 to Question 46555, if he will publish further guidance that clarifies that Child Arrangement Orders can be with extended family members as well as with a parent.
Answered by Alex Chalk
Extended family members may apply for a child arrangements order with the permission of the court. General information about making family court applications that involve children and who may apply is published in leaflet CB1 published by Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service and available on Gov.Uk.
A child arrangements order can make provision for a child to live with or spend time with a parent or an extended family member, such as a grandparent. In the context of covid-19 and compliance with a child arrangements order that has been made, guidance issued by the President of the Family Division on 24 March 2020 continues to apply. This is available at https://www.judiciary.uk/announcements/coronavirus-crisis-guidance-on-compliance-with-family-court-child-arrangement-orders/